A Witch's Tale
by xXLovelyAnimeLoverXx
Summary: A series of one-shots following the life of the Whitebeard Pirates and the newest addition to their crew: Azami Chimako, a 19-year-old spear-wielding thief hitching a ride with the pirates. Oh, and she also happens to be a Witch with a 275 million Beri bounty on her head. Things just got interesting. (Eventual AcexOC)
1. The Silver-Haired Thief Appears!

**Author's Note: Man, I'm so nervous. This isn't my first time putting up a story for Fan Fiction, but it's my first time putting up one for One Piece! I have been cooking this idea in my head for two years, and I feel like it's finally done and ready to be shown! I hope you guys enjoy this, because I put a lot of sweat, sleepless nights, and tears into making this the best that I could! Go on, Disclaimer-san!**

**Disclaimer: Lovely-chan tried very hard to get the rights to One Piece, but it seems that Oda-sama does not want to give them up!**

Chapter One:  
The Silver-Haired Thief Appears!

* * *

Ace sighed and rolled his eyes as he watched the blue eyed and brown haired chef argue with the butcher. They had been standing here arguing for well over twenty minutes; long enough for him to forget how it even started. He groaned frustratedly, then proceeded to grab the younger boy by the collar and drag him away from the butcher. It was bad enough that they were late, but they didn't even get what they came for! The boy turned slightly and gave Ace a confused look.

"You've done enough Allen; we should probably leave now." He said as he continued to pull Allen away from the now dispersing crowd.

"But... But...!" He started, but was cut off with a sharp glare.

"No buts! We need to get back to the ship, now." Ace said. Allen released a large sigh, then proceeded to pout. Ace ignored him, but let go of him and continued walking. Allen quickened his pace and soon matched Ace's.

"You know, Thatch is going to be mad because we didn't bring anything back..." Allen said. Ace turned to Allen and grabbed his cheeks, then pulled them repeatedly.

"And whose fault do you think this is?!" Ace yelled angrily at him. Allen couldn't respond, as his cheeks were being stretched out beyond their limits. Finally, Ace let go, and the two continued their walk to the docks. Occasionally they stopped and looked into the shops, seeing if there was something else on their long list of supplies that they needed to get, so that they at least returned with something. It was only when there was a loud explosion did the two stop walking and look towards the noise.

To their surprise, a short girl with medium length, lavender hair and light blue green eyes jumped out of the remaining dust. She was wearing a white, button-up vest, blue jean Capri pants, and black running shoes. She made eye contact with them, and immediately rushed towards them. Allen and Ace looked at each other before looking at the girl approaching them. Soon she reached them, and quick as lightning, she pulled Ace into a hug, burying her head in his chest. This surprised the two pirates, causing the older one two look down in confusion and the younger one to blush slightly.

"Ace, you didn't tell me you had a _girlfriend_!" Allen yelled accusingly. Ace began to wave his arms around rapidly, the entire situation overwhelming him.

"I don't! I have no idea who this girl is! Hey, who the hell-" Ace started, but was stopped by a pair of lips covering his own. Allen's face turned completely red, and he hid it in his hands. Ace felt his own cheeks getting hotter as his mind dimly tried to register what was going on. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw four buff looking men exit from the now settling cloud of dust. They had minor wounds and bruises all over them, but their faces were completely twisted in anger and hatred. Ace assumed they were pirates, but minor pirates at that; none of their faces were recognizable.

"Damn that woman! I swear when I get my hands on her she's gonna regret messing with me!" A particularly muscular guy spat venomously. Ace assumed this guy was the captain, from the torn jacket to the holes in the authoritative hat he was wearing. "Contact the others! Find that bitch and bring her to me!" The men grunted an agreement and split up, searching the town for the woman crazy enough to anger them.

By this time, the strange girl had stopped kissing Ace, and again had her face pressed against his chest. It only took a second for Ace to put two and two together. He gently pulled the girl away from him and looked her in the eyes. She couldn't hold his gaze for long, and quickly looked away. Ace frowned slightly, not liking the situation he was in one bit. He then noticed that the girl was trembling slightly, causing his expression to soften a bit. The poor girl was probably scared out of her mind from pissing off some pirates...

His entire theory was completely shattered when she kneed him in the gut, causing him to lose his grip. She then began to run away, but not before turning around and waving a wad of Beris. _His Beris_. The girl gave a mischievous grin before lifting her other hand and waving something around. The something was orange, and had a ring of red beads going around it. There were two small blue medals sitting on the ends of the ring. On one of the medals was a grinning face; the other had a frowning one.

It only took seconds for Ace to realize she had his hat in her grip. Anger boiled up in him, and his face contorted into anger. Who did this girl think she was?! Did she really believe she'd make it out of this alive?! Ace could see that the girl had a confident look in her eyes, and didn't seem to be scared of the death glare Ace was giving her. Then she did the unthinkable.

She put his hat on.

That was the last straw for Ace, and he immediately rushed towards the girl. His hands became fire, and he punched forward, aiming for the girl. The flames left his hand and continued forward in a wild column. The girl didn't move from her position; one could say that she was in fact, relaxed.

The pillar finally enclosed the girl in its fiery body. Ace waited for the screams of agony to erupt from the girl, but he heard none. Soon the fire died down, leaving nothing behind but burning cinders. A wave of disappointment hit Ace as he realized that he might have burned his hat with the girl. Ace let out a sigh of frustration, when he suddenly sensed something behind him.

"Ace, watch out!" Allen cried out from behind him. _Too late,_ Ace realized as he saw a knee from the corner of his eye. He didn't have time to turn into fire and burn the attacker, so he took the attack. He was surprised at how strong it was, and it actually managed to knock him off of his feet. Ace flew back, and vaguely registered slamming through a wall. He could hear Allen's muffled yell, followed by a choked sound. This caused Ace to jump up and run out, only to see the girl suffocating him... with her chest?

Allen's face was completely red to his ears. If possible, there was smoke coming off of his face. Ace looked at the thieving girl and saw that she was squealing with delight. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, and she was muttering something to herself as she clutched Allen's head. Ace couldn't make out what it was, but he knew it was probably bad. So without any hesitation, he charged towards the girl. When he got into striking range, he made sure to aim straight for her face to end this foolishness.

At the last moment, the girl tilted her head to the left, making his fist completely miss. Ace grit his teeth together, then swung his right fist towards the girl's side. She sidestepped, then kicked Ace's legs out from underneath him. Ace vaguely realized she had still been holding Allen the entire time, not letting a him even get a scratch.

"Your defense is weak," she said as she leaned over him. Ace scowled at her, and she smiled mischievously. "But your freckles are cute~" her statement caused a slight blush to bloom on Ace's cheeks, and he scowled even further at her.

"Shut up! Give me back my hat and my money!" Ace demanded, and the girl pouted slightly. If he wasn't upset, he would've found it cute. Too bad for this girl; he wasn't showing any mercy towards her. Nobody messes with his hat.

"What's the magic word~?" She said in a sing-song tone.

"Or you'll burn to your death~!" He answered in the same tone the girl used. The girl pouted even more, obviously not liking his answer. Her pout made her look very young, and Ace began to consider her age. "How old are you anyway? Thirteen?" The girl's pout turned into a legitimate frown, and Ace smirked. He had found her sore spot.

"I'm nineteen, if you must know." The girl said with a hard edge to her voice. It promised a world of pain if he decided to continue on the topic. This make Ace's smirk widen even more, and the girl's frown to deepen.

"Oh really? _Nineteen?_ Because to me, it looks like you're not even thirteen yet."

"Shut up." She hissed out.

"For all I know, you could be stuffing your bra to make yourself look older. Hell, you could even be ten, and I wouldn't know!"

"I said shut up."

"I bet puberty has never hit you yet! Instead of stealing, you need to be playing with dolls and stuffed animals!"

The girl let out an angered cry and thrust both of her hands forward, dropping the now passed out Allen on the ground. Ace didn't realize what was happening before it was too late. An enormous something had smacked him and knocked him off of his feet again. He was sent flying backwards until he landed harshly on the ground. Before he could even react, a spearhead was jammed into the ground by his eyes. Slowly, he looked up, and saw the lavender haired girl glaring at him with a look that said _murder_. It was a look he was used to getting, so he wasn't affected by it.

Instead, he swung his leg upward, transforming it into fire in the process. The girl jumped backwards to avoid the flames, giving Ace enough time to get to his feet. The two were at a stalemate; both were giving each other scalding looks, daring the other to make the first move. Ace's eyes flicked to Allen, who seemed to be calming down now. He might regain consciousness soon, and then they could double team the girl and stop her.

Looking away was Ace's first mistake. In the blink of an eye, the lavender-haired girl was in front of him. She swung her silver and midnight blue spear downward, intending to cut him. Ace jumped out of the way just in time, but the girl didn't give him any time to attack. She threw her spear forward like a javelin, and Ace ducked. It flew over his head and embedded itself in the wall behind him. When he rose his head, he saw that the girl had disappeared. Realization hit him in an instant, and he spun around. The tip of a spear cut him underneath his eye, shocking him. How could she have cut him? He was a Logia Devil Fruit User! The spear should have passed right through him, unless-

Ace sidestepped as the lavender-haired girl made another jab at him. He made the signal for a gun and pointed it at her. "Fire Bullet!" Rapid fire bullets of fire shot from his pointed fingers and towards the girl. To his immediate surprise, she dodged each of them. Twice he was grazed by her spear, and was further surprised when an injury resulted from the scrapes. Ace then came to the conclusion that she was using a powerful form of Armament Haki. Ace grabbed the girl's spear and yanked it forward, causing the girl to lose her footing and stumble forward. She made a surprised yelp, which was cut off when Ace kneed her in the gut.

The girl jumped back and coughed repeatedly before glaring at Ace and rubbing her midriff. He smirked at her and spread his fingers out before lighting them. The flames spelled out the words _"bring it on"_, and he could see that the girl was annoyed by it. Once again, Ace smirked as the girl charged forward for an attack. He was going to have fun.

**~loldividergoesherebutwordsareherenow~**

Allen cursed as he stumbled again while running back to where Ace was. After he had woken up, he left Ace to go find the others and get him help. He ran around the town, and found Elena, Marco, and Chizuru. He explained the situation to them, and they eagerly followed Allen. Now they were trying to get back before that crazy girl did something.

The sounds of explosions could be heard, and the group headed towards the plumes of black smoke and dust. People were running in the opposite direction, so Allen knew they were heading in the right direction. Finally, they arrived at their destination. To their surprise, both Ace and the lavender haired girl were injured gravely, and were breathing heavily. Marco stepped forward to charge at the girl, but Ace sent him a glare that said _"Stay Out of This"_.

"I'm ending this now!" The lavender haired girl cried out. Ace tensed up and got into a battle pose, watching as she climbed into the air. Soon she was far up, and it was hard to see her. Allen cupped his hand above his eyes to make out the shape of the girl. Then the incredible happened. "Guillotine!"

With her spear pointed downward, the girl began falling towards the earth at a rapid speed. All of them barely had time to widen their eyes and let out the beginnings of a gasp before a large explosion happened. The aftershock blew everyone in random directions. Allen flew back and tumbled a bit before hitting a vendor's cart. Dust was everywhere, making it hard to see anything.

"Allen? Marco? Chizuru?" Elena cried out. "You guys okay?" Allen scanned through the dust, and could make out the shapes of his friends. He released a small breath knowing that most of them were okay. There was still the matter of Ace though... Now that the dust was settling, Allen could make out a shape wearing a hat. Jumping up, Allen began running towards it. From the corner of his eye, he could see the rest of their group start to follow him.

Suddenly, all of the dust cleared away in a blast of wind. To the group's surprise, Ace was not standing up. He was laying at the feet of a short, silver-haired girl with emerald green eyes. She was wearing the same thing as the lavender-haired girl, and had the same silver and midnight blue spear in her hand, as well as Ace's hat. Did that mean she was the same person...? The now silver-haired girl wobbled, but drove her spear into the ground and leaned against it. Suddenly, she looked up at them, a determined look in her eyes.

"Who's next?" She called out. Marco dashed forward, and the girl pulled the spear out of the ground, ready for an attack. Before Marco could even reach her she collapsed, passing out on the spot. Marco stopped running, and stared at her for a few seconds. Then, he approached her cautiously, tensed up and ready to attack if necessary. When he reached Ace, he quickly checked his vitals, and was relieved when he found out Ace was still alive. Looking over, he saw that the silver-haired girl was alive as well.

"Is Ace okay?" Chizuru asked as she approached them. Marco nodded, eyes still on the silver-haired girl. Where had he seen her before...? "What about that girl?" She bent down and checked her wounds. "She seriously needs medical attention..."

"Leave her. It's her fault for picking a fight with Ace." Elena said, looking at the girl with discontent. Chizuru audibly gasped and looked at her with horror. "What? It's the truth."

"But I'm a doctor! I can't just leave her!" She said before stubbornly sitting next to her. "My job is to save people!" Elena sighed impatiently, but Chizuru wouldn't move. Marco saw that they weren't making any progress, so he gently picked up Ace and motioned for Allen to get the girl. Chizuru and Elena looked at Marco curiously, not understanding what he was doing. He started walking away, and only stopped when Chizuru and Elena didn't follow.

"We'd better get back to the ship; the townspeople are going to be angry about this and it's not a good idea to get caught up in it." Marco said without turning to look at him. Then he continued to keep walking, Allen following him closely. After a few seconds, Chizuru and Elena got up and followed him.

"Marco." Chizuru called out. He stopped walking and turned to look at Chizuru, curious about what she wanted. "Thank you for helping her." A small blush appeared on his cheeks, and he turned around and continued walking away. Chizuru only giggled and followed behind.

_Let's hope I made a good decision..._ Marco thought as he glanced back at the silver-haired thief.

**~woohoomorepagebreaksbecauseIamtoolazytoactuallymakeasmoothtransition~**

Azami stirred slightly, the remnants of sleep slowly disappearing. Instead of opening her eyes, she pretended to be asleep, trying to figure out where she was. She already knew she wasn't in the town anymore; Soul Sense had told her that. In fact, there were 4 people in the room with her now. Two of them were Devil Fruit users, while the others were normal humans.

"I still don't get why you had to bring her along!" One person yelled. Azami frowned slightly; this person was really noisy... "She is a danger to us all!" Annoyance built up in Azami; she was really beginning to dislike this person. What right did they have to judge her?!

Relax Ace," said another voice, higher than the one that first spoke. "We can just throw her overboard if she tries anything."

...

Okay, so just because tried to steal from them doesn't mean they know everything about her! She could be a good person!

Well, she had better wait until they reach an island before trying anything. Azami sensed movement, and found that a body was heading her way. "Hey, if she's a thief like you claim she is, then why would she bother to keep such an old necklace-_whoa_!" At this moment, Azami's eyes snapped open and she moved to throw her left fist at whoever even **dared** to touch _his_ necklace. But to her immediate surprise, she found her left wrist handcuffed to the bed pole.

"What the hell is this?" She said angrily, gesturing her handcuffed wrist. She glanced at everyone, and recognized Elena, Marco, Chizuru, and Allen from yesterday, as well as Ace. "Well? Is someone going to give me an explanation?"

"And why should we?" Elena said, a hard tone to her voice. "_You're_ the one who attacked our crew!"

"Elena. That's enough." Marco said to the angry blonde, then turned his attention back to Azami. "We had to make sure nothing bad would happen to our crew. We don't know enough about you to see if you are friend or foe."

"She's certainly a foe in my book," Ace commented, to which Azami narrowed her eyes at and stuck her tongue out.

"Shut it you pyromaniac!" She retorted. Ace bristled and sent a glare her way, to which she smiled at.

"Anyway," Marco said, slight annoyance in his tone, "You have to stay here, and wait for our captain to summon you and see what his decision is." With that, Marco turned and headed for the door, with Allen, Elena, and Ace in tow. Only Chizuru was left behind, seeing as someone needed to stay behind and watch Azami. Azami in the meanwhile, was squirming around. Chizuru paid her no attention, and only continued to read her book. It was only when Azami called the salmon pink-haired girl over did she mark her page and go over to her.

"Do you need something?" She asked, making sure to be wary of her.

"I have to go to the bathroom..." she said, staring straight into Chizuru's sunset orange eyes. Chizuru sighed, then went back to the desk. She dug around for the key, then came back and held her hand out. Sighing, Azami placed her free wrist in Chizuru's grasp, who then uncuffed her left wrist. Quick as lightning, she snapped the handcuff onto Chizuru's wrist and back onto the bed pole. "You know, there's a reason why old tricks are the best tricks..." Azami began walking away when she heard sounds outside of her door. Cursing quietly, she looked around for a hiding place, but couldn't find one.

"I guess I'm going up then..." she muttered. Whispering a few quick words, she began to blend in with the background, then started to float upwards. Chizuru watched with wide eyes, not believing what she was seeing. Soon the door opened, and Allen stepped in.

"Hey, Pops wants to see- Chizuru!" He cried out when he noticed her handcuffed to the bed. "How did this happen?!"

"That girl!" Chizuru replied. "I don't know what she is, but she used some weird power to make herself float and blend in with the wall!"

"What?" Allen said, confused, while also looking around. "What do you mean by that?" He didn't get an answer to his question, as he suddenly felt sleepy. He groggily turned his head to look at Chizuru, and noticed that she had already fallen asleep. Allen then looked towards the door, and began crawling clumsily to it.

_Have to warn the others..._ he thought, but was stopped when a pair of feet stood in front of him. He slowly rose his head, only to stare into the emerald green eyes of Azami. He didn't see any malice or hatred in her green eyes, but it only caused him to tense up even more.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to go to sleep for a while..." she said, before placing her hand on his head lightly. Allen could no longer resist the overwhelming urge to lay his head down and sleep, so he succumbed to it and let the darkness take over.

Azami rose from the crouch she was in and looked towards the door. Using Soul Sense, she found no one near her, and left the room. Azami walked quickly and quietly, wanting to get off of the ship as fast as possible. She had _no_ intention of meeting Whitebeard; she was too young to die! A chill went down Azami's spine, and she sensed the presence of two people headed in her direction. She looked around frantically, and went into the door on her right, unsure of what was in the room. To her surprise, it was the laundry room. Azami grinned mischieviously as a plan formed in her mind.

"If you can't beat them, join them!" she muttered as she began looking through the piles of clothes. Her smile grew wider as she found what she was looking for. "This may be small in the chest area, but it'll have to do..." Seconds later, Azami emerged from the room, dressed in a nurse's uniform. Using Soul Sense, she navigated her way around the ship, making sure to take the quickest way to the deck. Unfortunately for her, the Second Division Commander happened to be heading in the opposite direction of her. Azami groaned quietly, then lowered her head and continued walking.

She had almost made it past him when he snapped her bra open and said, "Tadaa!" as he did it.

Azami threw a roundhouse kick towards him, sending him flying through the hall. Her face was a vibrant red, and she was desperately trying to put her bra back on. Ace hit the wall with a loud thud, and he could be heard groaning in pain. Azami sent hot glares in his direction, while also clutching her chest. "You disgusting pervert!" What idiot would go around doing something like _that_?!

"I didn't know the nurses could be that violent..." Ace muttered to himself as he got up. He looked over to the now embarrassed nurse, and saw that she was glaring daggers at him. Where had he seen that look before...? And now that he thought about it, he didn't recognize this nurse at all. He didn't recall getting any new ones, so where did she come from? Suspicious, Ace got up and made his way over to her. The anger in her emerald green eyes subsided for a look he couldn't place. "Who are you?" He demanded. The nurse was about to reply when Sam dashed around the corner.

"Ace! Grab her!" The orange-haired boy called out. "She's the silver-haired thief!" Ace turned around to grab her arm, but was met with a fist instead. He was so shocked that he stumbled back and hit the floor. This gave Azami time to run. Sam whipped out his handguns and began shooting at her. Azami stopped running and swung her arm out in a wide motion. A blast of wind came from it, sending the bullets back towards Sam. He jumped out of the way and avoided the exploding bullets just in time. Through the dust, Azami ran towards the stairs leading to the deck. "Elena, stop her!"

Azami saw the blonde-haired, brown eyed girl step in front of the staircase, her face contorted into rage. She stopped running, and only stared at the girl. Without saying a word, Elena charged towards Azami, fist prepared. To her surprise, Azami ducked quickly.

"Too slow." She said before kicking Elena's legs out from underneath her. Elena's back hit the floor, causing her breath to leave her lungs. "Better luck next time!" She then smirked at her, causing Elena to scowl in fury.

"Hey! Get back here!" Ace yelled as he charged down the hallway. Sam was right behind him, and Elena jumped up to join the group. Azami clambered up the stairs, relieved when she found the deck. Whitebeard Pirates looked stunned as she ran out towards the front of the ship, then turned to the group pursuing her. She then summoned her spear, and began spinning it rapidly.

"Tempest!" She cried out, creating a vortex of wind. Everyone on deck scrambled to grab onto to something stationary, for fear of being blown overboard. Some people did go over the railing; others hit the wall or deck. Ace, Sam, and Elena were thrown backwards, flying through the air until they hit something. Looking up, they saw that it was none other than Whitebeard himself. Swinging his bisento downward, he cut the tornado in half, dispersing it. Azami barely had time to dodge the attack coming towards her, and jumped out of the way, landing on her side painfully. To the joyous cries of his crewmates, Whitebeard approached Azami, who sat up to stare him in the face.

"Edward Newgate... Also known as Whitebeard, the Strongest Man Alive," she said quietly, a small smile on her face. "I never thought I'd meet you like this." She then stood, still staring at the large man in front of her.

Whitebeard looked down at her, a grin on his face. "Are you the one causing all this trouble on my ship?"

"Yup! Trouble seems to follow me wherever I go..." she said, laughing a little. Whitebeard was silent for a few seconds, then laughed a loud, boisterous laugh. The Whitebeard Pirates were confused; no one had any idea why he was socializing with the thief. The ones that were mostly confused were Ace, Sam, and Elena. They couldn't understand why he was showing her such hospitality.

"What's your name, brat?" Whitebeard asked.

"Azami Chimako." She replied. Gasps could be heard rippling through the crowd, as well as hushed whispers.

"Ah, so that's why she looked familiar..." Marco muttered. Thatch looked over at him, slightly confused, and waited for Marco to continue. "That girl is pretty famous in the pirate world. She's a well known thief; able to steal anything from anyone. She's also pretty expensive to hire, I heard. Her nickname is 'Wicked Witch'. Rumor is she's called that because she's ruthless when it comes to her jobs." Thatch kept looking back from Azami to Marco, unable to believe what he'd been told.

"Are you sure that's the same girl?" Thatch asked. Marco nodded, showing him her wanted poster. On it was her picture, name, and bounty price. The picture only showed the side of her face, catching her smirking devilishly; some of it was covered in blood, hiding the rest of picture. Her bounty price was currently 275,000,000, causing Thatch to raise his eyebrows in amazement. "And she looks like she's 12 or 13..."

"I'm _nineteen_, dammit!" Azami yelled out angrily, causing Thatch to jump and hide behind Marco. "Haven't you heard the saying, 'Big things come in small packages'?!" Whitebeard laughed at her outburst, causing even more confusion among the pirates.

"You're a feisty one," Whitebeard said. Azami looked back at him, slight annoyance still on her face. "I like that! Things just might get interesting around here. I'll tell you what: you can stay on my ship, but only if you promise to give me 25% of your earnings!"

"How about 10%?" Azami bargained. Whitebeard laughed.

"20%!"

"5%!"

"15%!"

"2.5%!"

"Why is she going lower?!" Ace whispered angrily. Truthfully, he was not happy about her staying on the ship. She was anything but friendly to any of them; he didn't trust her at all. One moment, she'll be all nice and innocent, and the next moment, she'll be trading them in to the Marines!

"Yeah! If I was her, I'd take what I was given!" Elena whispered harshly. There was laughter from Whitebeard, causing the two's attention to be drawn back to the main conversation.

"I know, I was just joking to see how far you were willing to go!" Azami said, a light tone to her voice. "But 15% is fine with me!"

"Deal. Welcome aboard the Moby Dick!" Whitebeard said happily. He seemed to be the only one happy about this, as only a few people cheered. "Let's party to celebrate her welcome!" Now most of the members on deck cheered, Ace included. They didn't really care why, as long as they got to get drunk and eat a lot. Elena scowled; she didn't see the reasoning behind having a party for someone who wasn't even a part of the crew! Looking around, Elena decided it was up to her to make sure nothing bad happened to her friends.

Even if it meant earning the trust of her enemy.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Whitebeard said. Everyone quieted down, and waited for him to continue speaking. "Ace, I've decided to place Azami under your care."

"What?!" Two voices yelled. One was in outrage; the other was in shock. Whitebeard only smiled, and didn't say anything else.

"Why _him_, of all people?!" Azami said. "I don't want to work for a walking campfire!"

"Face it, Shortstack, you're an addition to my division!" Ace taunted. Azami spun towards him, her face set in a snarl.

"Do _not_ call me short, and I am not an addition to your division!" She hissed out. Ace only laughed at her, momentarily forgetting that she was the enemy. "What's so funny?!"

"You!" He answered through fits of laughter. "You're just so...interesting!" Azami sighed, as if resigning to her fate, and allowed herself a small smile. "Welcome to the crew, Azami!" Azami's grin grew wider as she looked around at all of the smiling faces, welcoming her with open arms.

"You know, I think I'm going to like it here..." she muttered as she let herself be shown around by Ace. In the back of her mind, though, was the smallest feeling of insecurities.

_Will they be the ones to save me?_

* * *

**Author's Notes: Gah! I finally finished this! I started writing this chapter way back in February (I think?), and now it's June, and I'm just not finishing it. On top of that, I have another fan fiction that seriously needs to be finished. My plan is to finish it this summer, because it's been sitting idle for far too long (mostly because I had to deal with school, and that place is definitely a buzzkill for writing!). And then I will start working on this one more often!**

**One thing that's different about this is that the chapters are going to be **_very loosely_** tied together. They'll be more like one shots than chapters of a story, with slight references to other chapters. Or at least that's what I'm trying to do (in the end, it'll end up being like a story, because I suck at writing in different styles...). I'll also try to keep all the chapters in chronological order, but don't be surprised if a random chapter pops up in the middle of an arc, and it's referencing something that happened a while back.**

**Review Please! Because it's my first One Piece fan fiction!**


	2. Enter Akimi, the Prodigy Navigator!

**Author's Note: And I'm back! Here is the second chapter of A Witch's Tale! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Now we know pretty darn well that One Piece would not be the anime and manga we know and love today if Lovely owned any part of it!**

Chapter Two:

Enter Akimi, the Prodigy Navigator!

* * *

"Have you seen Azami?" Chizuru said as she approached Marco in the galley. She had a bunch of herbs and spices in hand, none of which he knew what they were for. Marco stopped eating and looked around, surprised to see that she was nowhere in sight. He looked back to Chizuru, who was still searching with a slightly confused expression. "She asked me to give these to her..."

"Last time I saw her, she was heading towards her room," Thatch supplied as he walked past, overhearing the conversation. "She said she had something important to do."

"Well, whatever she's doing has to wait," Allen chimed in, "because it's her shift to serve."

"I'll get her!" Ace said, jumping up suddenly and rushing towards the door. No one had time to protest as he exited the room.

"What's with the sudden change of heart for him?" Elena said with a slightly disapproving tone. "The other day he wouldn't even acknowledge her presence!"

"I think he finds her interesting," Marco said. "Especially since she's the first person in a long time to actually beat him..."

Elena sighed as she turned and stared at the door, beginning to doubt her own reasons for hating the girl. She then mentally slapped herself, burying her doubt and reminding herself that Azami was the enemy. Still...

Shaking her head, Elena put off her thoughts and continued eating, noting that some of her food was missing. "Hey!"

_~meanwhilethousandsofmilesaway!~_

Ace whistled as he walked down the hallway, keeping an eye out for Azami. Finally, he reached her room, and was about to open the door when he heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Y-you'll be back soon, right?" It said. Judging from the pitch, Ace assumed it was a girl, and a young one at that.

"Of course! Dinner's halfway over, so it'll be no time before I'm back!" Azami said. Shuffling was heard, and then the door suddenly opened. Azami stepped out and bumped into Ace. Surprised, she looked up at him, quickly closing the door behind her. "Ace! W-What are you doing here?"

Not wanting to be reprimanded for eavesdropping, Ace decided not to ask about the mysterious voice. He would just wait until later, and then he'd ask about it. That way, there was less of a risk of her hitting him.

"I came to get you," he replied. "You're late for your shift. Why do you have that plate with you?" He asked, noticing she was holding it in her hand. She blushed and hid the plate behind her back.

"Oh that? I found it when I was cleaning up, so I decided to bring it back to the kitchen," she said, waving it off with her hand. "Anyway, we should probably get back to the galley!" And with that, she grabbed his arm and began leading him away from her room.

"Wait!" Ace called out as he pulled his arm away from her. Azami froze, then slowly turned around to face him.

"Yes...?" She said, giving him a forced smile. Ace stepped towards her, a serious expression on his face. She gulped, feeling the sweat roll down her forehead. It was silent for a moment, neither of them saying anything. Finally, Ace broke into a grin, and held up a maid's uniform.

"You forgot this!" He said cheerfully, causing Azami to scowl and turn away.

"I am _not_ wearing that!" She said, starting to walk again. Ace quickly trailed behind her, still holding up the maid's uniform.

"Oh come on! If you're going to be a maid, then you have to wear the uniform!" He whined. Azami rolled her eyes and continued walking to the galley. "And you have to do what I say because I'm in charge of you!"

"Just because you're taller than me does not make you the boss of me!" She called back to him.

"You being the same size as Allen has nothing to do with the fact that Pops put me in charge of you!" Ace retorted with a smirk. He could see Azami's shoulders stiffen at the comment, but she continued to walk forward. It was at this point that a thought came to his mind. "Hey, are you really nineteen?"

"Look, I may have lied about everything else, but I did not lie about my age," she replied. Ace gave her a disbelieving glance, and Azami studied him through a side look. "What?"

"I just find it hard to believe that you're an adult even though you could be mistakened for someone's kid..." he said, which got him a fist to the head.

"Idiot." Azami said, blushing from anger, and the two continued to head to the galley, the mysterious voice forgotten.

**~nodividersagainbecauseilikebeingunique~**

Ace yawned as he got up from the table and stretched. Looks like he had another narcoleptic attack after dinner...Hearing a grumbling noise coming from his stomach, Ace sighed, and looked towards the kitchen door. He noticed that a light was coming from underneath it, causing him to wonder who was still in there. He hoped it was someone who would let him get away with grabbing a snack...

Ace approached the door, noting that he could hear the sounds of metal scraping metal. Ah, so it was a midnight-snacker... He wouldn't mind a little company, now would he? With a mischievous grin on his face, he tip-toed the rest of the way to the door, then crouched low behind it. He waited until the scraping noises stopped before slamming the door open.

"I caught you red-handed you little- huh?" Ace looked around, but saw that the kitchen was empty. The fridge was open though, and there was a pot and spoon sitting in front of it. Making his way over to it, he picked them up, and placed the pot inside the refrigerator, then turned to put the spoon in the sink.

The moment he turned, a frying pan met his head. Ace's vision swam, and he collapsed to the floor, the pain bringing him to his knees. The last thing he remembered seeing was a pair of scared brown eyes and bluish-black hair.

_~meanwhileinthekitchen~_

"Ace... Wake up..." a voice said. Ace groaned, his head feeling like it had been cracked open. He slowly opened his eyes, and was instantly blinded by light. Colors swam together, making it harder to tell the difference between objects. He squinted his eyes, letting them get used to the light, and the blurs of color finally turned into shapes. "Ace?"

He slowly turned his head to the sound of the voice, and saw a blob of colors morph into Chizuru. She had smelling salts in her hand, and she was studying Ace's face with concerned eyes. Crouching next to her was Azami, who looked slightly concerned. Ace tried to sit up, but Chizuru gently pushed him back down. "What...?"

"I accidentally knocked you out earlier... Sorry!" Azami said sheepishly. Ace blinked, the memories slowly coming back to him. He had come into the kitchen to get a snack... Someone had already been in there, and he was planning on scaring them... When he went inside, the kitchen was empty, and... and...

_And what?_ He thought frustratedly. Ace scrunched his eyebrows up, trying to recall the very last thing that he saw. Although it was making his headache worse, he could feel the memory coming back to him. _A person, with bluish-black hair, and brown eyes!_ Again, he started to sit up, much to the protest of Chizuru.

"It wasn't you." He said quietly. Azami blinked, and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Ace looked at her with a serious expression. "That wasn't you in the kitchen."

"Ace... What are you talking about?" Azami said slowly, mild confusion in her tone. "I was in the kitchen..."

"No, you weren't; the person I saw had brown eyes and bluish-black hair. There's someone else on the ship..." Ace stood, with Chizuru and Azami following suit. "We need to wake the others and let them know."

"Wouldn't it be bad if we woke _everyone_ up?" Chizuru said worriedly. "I mean, wouldn't that alert the intruder that we know?" Azami looked at Chizuru and then back at Ace, nodding her head.

"She's right! So maybe the three of us should go looking instead!" Azami said quickly, grabbing both of their hands and pulling them towards the kitchen door. Ace pulled away from her, and she glanced back at him, slight worry and agitation on her face. "What's the hold-up? We gotta catch this intruder before they get away!"

"It isn't safe for just us three to go looking," Ace reasoned. "What would happen if all three of us get caught? We need a bigger group of people."

Azami sighed in defeat, and let go of Chizuru's hand. "Fine. We'll get a bigger group. No more than five people though, or the intruder might catch on that we know." She then walked out of the kitchen, leaving Ace and Chizuru behind. Ace gave Chizuru a confused glance, to which Chizuru shrugged at and followed Azami. Ace then scratched his head, still confused, but followed anyway.

**~I'vebanishedthehorizontalbarfromthisstory~**

Marco grumbled as he followed Ace, Chizuru, Thatch, Sam, and Elena around the ship. He wasn't very happy about being woken up _in the middle of the night_ for something Ace _thought_ he saw. In fact, their entire group was full of unhappy and irritated people. No one wanted to be up looking for something that could have just been caused by the blow to Ace's head!

"Are you sure it wasn't just Azami?" Marco asked sleepily. Ace nodded his head, determination set in his face. "Are you absolutely sure it wasn't her?" He nodded again, and Marco let out a frustrated breath.

"Speaking of Azami, where is she?" Elena inquired. Everyone stopped walking and began looking around for her. She was nowhere in sight, causing the group to become confused.

"You know, now that I think about it, I haven't seen her since we left Marco's room..." Sam said quietly. Everyone nodded, noticing that the presence of the thief had disappeared when their group got larger.

"Maybe she went to the bathroom?" Chizuru suggested. The others looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "And then she got lost..."

No one said anything for a while, until Ace turned around and continued walking. "Well, whatever. We'll find her while we're looking for the intruder." Without a word of protest, the others followed him through the ship. After a few minutes of silence and yawning, the group finally arrived at their first destination.

"The storage room? Why here?" Thatch asked.

Ace turned to him, a smug grin on his face. "Because if I were an intruder that was hiding, this is the first place I'd hide!"

_What type of logic is that...?_ The others thought while sweat dropping. Ace opened the door and went inside, and the group followed him, staying close together. Slowly they walked through the storage room, trying to silence their steps and breathing. Ace had his hand raised, using it as a source of light, and was sweeping it from left to right. His hand passed over barrels and bags, boxes and jars, and the occasional cobweb.

"See Ace, there's _nothing_ here," Elena said irately, giving Ace a glare. "Can we go back to bed now?"

Ace turned to her and shook his head, to which she groaned at. "We still have to check the other levels!" He turned away from her and was about to keep walking when he tripped and fell. The others stared, watching as he landed face first on the ground. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Thatch asked as Ace sat up and rubbed his head. He relit his hand, then hovered it over his legs to see what he had tripped over. Everyone's eyes widened as the light washed over the object.

"Allen!" Chizuru cried out, and immediately rushed to his side. His arms were crudely tied behind his back, and he was unconscious. After checking his vitals, Chizuru looked to Ace. "He's unconscious; I don't know how long he's been like this though... We need to take him back to the infirmary!"

"You can't go by yourself," Marco argued, "you could be attacked. Plus, you have an injured person, which puts you at a disadvantage. Someone else has to go with you."

"I'll go!" Sam volunteered, then picked Allen up and held him bridal style. Chizuru stood also, and the two left the storage room. After they left, Marco turned to the remaining members of his group.

"Now that we've confirmed that there's an intruder on the ship, we need to find and capture him. No one is allowed to go off on their own. If anything happens, make sure you're with another person, got it?" Marco listed, and everyone nodded their heads. Ace then turned and headed towards the door, with Marco, Thatch, and Elena following him.

"Well Ace, where to next?" Elena inquiried. All eyes shifted to Ace, who had his backed turned from them.

"We keep looking on this level, then we go to the lower levels." He answered. "Chances are the intruder got lost and headed deeper into the ship." And with that, the four continued searching the ship.

**~whyusedividerswhenyoucanhavewords~**

Azami quietly moved through the ship, occasionally peeking into other rooms. She had split from Ace and Chizuru the minute they woke Marco up and went searching on her own. She just hoped they didn't find the "intruder" before she did, otherwise this would turn into an even bigger mess.

"Where did you go?" She muttered as she checked another room. Suddenly, a shiver went up her spine, alerting her that there were people headed her way. Focusing, she found that it was a group of four. "Oh great..."

She quickly turned to run away, but ended up tripping and falling onto her face, letting out a squeal. The shivers were going up her spine a mile a minute, alerting her that the group was getting closer to her location. She hurriedly jumped to her feet and ran into the first room she saw, the sounds of footsteps getting louder. Looking around, she saw a couple of boxes and some sheets sitting in a corner. She rushed over to them, and pulled the tarp over the boxes, burying herself underneath it.

"I think it came from over here!" A voice said. "Check the rooms!"

Azami stiffened, and tried to breathe as quietly as possible when the door to the room opened. She could hear the person step into the room and begin to look around. Her heartbeat quickened as they moved things to search, getting closer and closer to her hiding spot. Finally, the person was standing over her, the tarp in their grasp. Closing her eyes, Azami waited for the sound of the tarp being removed, a millions answers already going through her mind.

Luckily for her, the door was opened, stopping the tarp from being removed. "Ace, get over here quick!" Marco said before leaving. Ace followed him, letting go of the tarp and heading out the door. Azami waited until she heard the click of the door closing before releasing a big breath. As soon as she could no longer sense Ace's presence, she jumped up and ran out the door, heading in the opposite direction of them.

"What happened?!" Ace said as he reached Thatch. He was holding an unconscious Elena in his arms, and was sitting on the floor.

"We heard a noise coming from down the hall, and Elena rushed off to see what it was," Thatch started. "By the time I caught up to her, she was already knocked out..."

"I think we may have underestimated this intruder..." Marco said. "Thatch, do you think you'll be okay taking Elena back to the infirmary by yourself?" Thatch nodded, then stood and began making his way back, with Elena thrown over his shoulder like a bag. After he rounded a corner, Ace and Marco looked at each other. Without a word being spoken between them, the two continued their search of the ship.

**~ithinki'mrunningoutofthingstoputhere~**

The silence on the ship was deafening between the two. With both of them on high alert, neither wanted to say anything. Both of them quietly moved through the ship, checking every room they passed by. The tension radiating from them was enough to cause the shadows to seem like they were moving. Every creak and groan would cause the pair to twist their bodies, sure that the intruder was hiding behind them, just waiting to attack.

Just when he thought he was going to go insane, Marco caught a glimpse of a body rounding the corner. He quickly glanced at Ace, who had his eyes widened. "I wasn't the only one to see that, was I?"

Ace shook his head, then looked back to where the body had disappeared, immediately rushing after it. Marco was on his tail, and the light provided by Ace was soon catching the ends of a pair of feet. "There they are! Don't lose them!"

The two of them continued to chase the body shrouded in darkness until they hit a dead end. Slowly, the duo approached the intruder, and the light revealed feet clad in red ankle boots; a pair of legs in black leggings; a short red checkered skirt; a small frame wearing a white turtleneck; and finally, a round head hosting a quivering mouth, small nose, scared brown eyes, and a mane of bluish-black hair.

"It's a girl..." Ace mumbled, giving Marco a confused glance. "What are we supposed to-"

Suddenly, the flame in Ace's hand was extinguished, and he fell face forward. Marco immediately dropped to his knees next to him, and that's when he heard the snoring.

"You choose _now_ to have a narcoleptic fit?!" He yelled angrily. Sighing, he stood and lit his hand, much in the same fashion as Ace had. The blue glow illuminated the hallway again, but it did nothing to change the look of pure terror on the girl's face. She was gripping a frying pan tightly, and kept it close to her; Marco guessed it was the same one from the earlier attacks. An awkward silence filled the space, until Marco coughed before speaking.

"So... How did you find your way onto our ship?" He asked. He was given an answer in the form of sniffles, and saw the girl began wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her turtleneck. "Hey... don't cry... I won't hurt you... Just answer my questions and everything will be okay..."

Marco stepped closer to the girl and lowered his hand to show that he wasn't a threat. It was only when he caught the glint of something metal from the corner of his eye that he realized he was within striking range for the girl. Quickly lifting his arm, he blocked her attack and managed to throw her off balance. He then grabbed her arm, stopping her from making any further attempts to attack.

Marco once again lifted his hand, this time the flame burning brighter, and he brought it close to the girl's face. He could see that she was beyond scared of him, but he wasn't going to let her get off easy.

"I tried it the nice way, but you wanted to fight. You do realize we're pirates. This is not a game we're playing; you'll seriously get hurt if you don't back down now." Marco said in a dangerous tone. He could see it was working too; the girl had paled so much that her skin was practically white.

Apparently it had worked too well, because before he knew it, a voice had yelled, "Marco, don't!" and he was tackled to the ground. Turning to see who it was, he was surprised to find a pair of greens eyes and a head of silver hair.

"Azami? Why did you tackle me?" he asked her. She didn't answer his question, and only rushed over to the girl and stood protectively in front of her.

"Don't hurt her Marco! It wasn't her fault!" she said. Still confused, Marco stood, eyeing the girl. She was staring back at him, the fear still traceable in her eyes. "Just blame this on me, but leave her alone!"

It was at this time that Ace woke up. He yawned, then stretched his arms before blinking and staring at the scene in front of him. "Damn, did I fall asleep again? What happened?"

"What happened is that Azami has some explaining to do…" Marco answered, while pointedly staring at Azami. She then shrunk back and gave a nervous laugh at the slight glares she was receiving.

"Oh boy… I think I'm in serious trouble…" She said to the girl behind her, who nodded in response.

"Definitely."

**~chickenandwafflesaregoodtogether~**

"-Not to mention reckless, idiotic, and just plain stupid!" Ace yelled as he paced in front of Azami.

It was now daytime on the Moby Dick, and after the events of the night, most of the crew had gathered in the galley to listen to Azami's scolding. The "intruder", who introduced herself as Akimi, was sitting next to Azami, nibbling on the plate of food placed in front of her. Azami was sitting with her head leaning against her arm, a look of pure boredom plastered across her face. She used her other hand as a puppet, mocking everything Ace said.

"Oh please, like you're one to talk about being stupid…" she mumbled while rolling her eyes. "You and stupid are like one person…" At this, Akimi giggled, earning a smile from Azami.

"What was that?" Ace said suddenly, leaning towards Azami. She jumped in surprise, and leaned away from him. "I thought I heard you say something."

"I didn't say anything! Did you hear me say anything?" she said, turning her head to Akimi. She looked up at Azami and shook her head, then continued to eat her food. Azami turned back to Ace, a smile on her face. "So as you can clearly see, I didn't utter a word! Continue with your boring- I mean, scolding speech!"

Ace gave her a narrowed glare before straightening up. "Whatever. Akimi's going to have to go anyway."

Azami jumped up with a shocked cry, her eyes flaring to life with anger. "Why?! She didn't do anything!"

Ace gave her a smug smirk, causing her to frown even more. "This isn't a punishment for her. This is a punishment for _you_; I know how much you want her to stay, so I'm sending her packing!"

Azami's eyes were narrowed dangerously, and her face was red, either from anger or embarrassment. The other conversations had abruptly stopped, causing all attention to be on Ace and Azami. Akimi was staring worriedly between the two, no longer eating.

"I say she stays." she replied coldly to Ace.

"That's not your call. You're the one being punished." he said, standing his ground.

"But-" Azami started, stopping when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to look at Akimi, who shook her head.

"It's okay. I boarded this ship without your superior officers knowing, so the only logical thing to do would be to leave the ship without causing any more trouble." Azami smiled slightly, then glanced at Ace.

"You're right about almost everything, except this guy is _definitely_ not superior in any way…" she said to Akimi, watching as Ace bristled at the comment. "I don't even know how he managed to worm his way into becoming the Second Division Commander…"

"Would you like me to show you how?" Ace spat out angrily, his fist catching on fire. Azami turned to him, her eyebrow arched and face smug. "What are you smiling about?!"

"I already beat you once, Ace, and I'm pretty sure I could do it again. In fact," she said, smile growing wider, "Akimi here already KO'ed you!"

A collective gasp could be heard rippling through the galley, and Ace stiffened. "That's right; you heard me. You, the oh-so-great Fire Fist Ace, who has a bounty of half a billion Beris, was one-hit KO'ed by a _15-year-old girl armed with a frying pan_." Azami said, emphasizing each word by poking him on the chest.

The galley was silent after hearing Azami's speech. No one said anything, and continued to watch Ace's stiff form. Suddenly, everyone began laughing, causing Ace's face to become red from embarrassment. Azami smiled triumphantly, and even Akimi gave a little giggle. Ace, though, was far from being happy. Azami took one look at Ace's face and knew that she had crossed the line.

"You know, I should really learn to keep my mouth shut…" she grumbled under her breath.

**~it'speanutbutterjellytime!~**

Azami sighed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was currently mopping the deck of the Moby Dick, much to her dismay. After revealing to the entire crew that Ace was knocked out by Akimi, he angrily gave her the duty of cleaning the deck off, handing her the mop and a bucket. Unfortunately for her, the mop broke seconds after she began, causing to have to go searching for another one. Finally finding one, she headed back up to the deck, realizing that half the day was already over and she hadn't even cleaned a quarter of the deck.

"Wait a minute…" she thought aloud as she leaned against the mop, catching her breath, "why am I doing this by hand?!" she smacked her forehead and sighed, dropping the mop.

She then pointed at it, the tip of her finger glowing brightly. "Mop the deck." The mop and bucket began glowing, and the mop dunked itself into the bucket. Azami smiled as it began cleaning the deck, then walked over to where Akimi was leaning against the railing. "Enjoying the view?"

"I thought you were suppose to be mopping the deck…" Akimi said quietly. Azami smiled, and pointed to where the mop was currently cleaning.

"I am." Akimi gave a sigh, then turned back to the sea, watching the waves roll by. To be honest, she was going to be a little sad when she left this ship. It seemed to be filled with such nice people… She had hoped that they'd let her stay on the ship; she didn't have anywhere to go, nor did she have anyone she could rely on to help her…

Akimi sighed again, watching the birds fly through the cloudless sky. With the waves gently lapping against the ship, it helped to create a serene, peaceful feeling in her… Well, as serene as being on the pirate ship of one of the most powerful pirates could be. The wind blew softly against Akimi's face, causing her to smile. The breeze was amazing… She closed her eyes, enjoying the serenity of the moment. It was only when she felt the ship lurch slightly that she sat up.

Akimi quickly glanced at the waves, then up at the sky. Her eyes widened as realization crossed her face. Without saying a word, she ran to the ship's wheel, pushing the actual navigator out of the way and sharply turned the wheel. The ship obeyed, and sharply veered to the right. Seconds later Azami appeared.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, running up to her in a panic. Akimi didn't respond, and only continued to turn the wheel. Right behind Azami was Ace, Marco, Thatch, and Haruta. Meanwhile, storm clouds were brewing in the distance, though no one noticed.

"Azami, what did you do?!" Ace cried out angrily.

"What?! I didn't do _anything_!" she responded, just as furious. "Why is it that every time something goes wrong on this ship you blame me?!"

"That's not the problem right now. The problem is that she's turning the ship and we don't know why." Marco said, stepping in between the two.

"Well why don't we ask her?" Haruta suggested, with Thatch nodding in agreement.

"Guys, you should probably grab onto something!" Akimi called out to them. Before any of them could reply, there was a loud clap of thunder. Everyone covered their ears and looked to the sky, noticing that it had suddenly gotten darker. Without warning, rain began to heavily fall on them. The waves were no longer gently pushing them along; they were instead pushing and pulling the ship, threatening to capsize it. The once gentle breeze picked up, turning into a strong wind.

Luckily for them, Akimi's fast thinking had put the ship on the ends of the storm. In the distance, a massive water tornado had shot up from the sea and into the sky, sucking up everything in its path. Seconds later, it disappeared. The waters calmed again, and returned to their gentle lapping. The sky cleared, becoming blue again, and the wind became nothing more than a soft breeze.

Everyone was silent, staring at Akimi with awe. Suddenly, Azami turned to Ace, a smug smile on her face. "Did you see that? She saved us! Now you can't kick her off of the ship!"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Again, it's not her punishment. It's yours." Azami groaned loudly and stomped her foot.

"Well, I don't see a reason why she can't stay…" a new voice answered. Everyone turned to see Whitebeard standing over them happily. "If she can predict storms like that, then why not let her stay?"

Akimi looked up shyly, a smile slowly forming on her face. "You mean…?" Whitebeard only nodded, causing Azami and Akimi to jump for joy.

"You see, this is why I like this guy!" Azami said happily. "He knows what a good deal is when he sees one, _unlike_ some people!" she gave a pointed stare to Ace.

"Just because she's staying doesn't mean that you don't get a punishment!" Ace retorted. "You still have to clean the deck, especially now that there's seawater all over it!"

At this, Azami sighed, then waved her hand. Once again, the mop and bucket started to move around, cleaning up the water that was spilled on the deck. "There. It's being cleaned; are you happy?"

Ace shook his head, so Azami raised her hand. This caused the bucket to levitate over his head. Bringing her hand down, the bucket turned over, spilling the water onto him. Everyone laughed as Ace stumbled around, weakened from the water.

"Are you happy now?" Azami said with a smile. After regaining his senses, Ace shook his head and began chasing Azami around the deck, with everyone still laughing at the two. Akimi was laughing as well, a genuine smile on her face.

_A new family…_

* * *

**Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I've been busy with summer homework, and also preparing to go back to school (sadly). But I did say updates would be random, so you were warned~ Time to answer Reviews (A.K.A. The-Only-Review-For-This-Story)!**

**_Savage Kill:_ First, thank you for being my first reviewer! It means a lot to me! Anyway, I'm glad you asked about Azami's powers. It means I succeeded in keeping them shrouded in mystery~ They will be explained in later chapters, so stick around to find out! As for making the chapters an Omake, your suggestion actually helped me, so thank you for that also~**

**I would say that reviews help me type faster, but they really just make me happy~ So Review Please~**


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